U.S. greenhouse gas emissions rose for the first time in two years – and at a faster pace than the economy grew – by 2.4% in 2025, driven largely by increased power sector demand and by fuel use for heating buildings, a report by Rhodium Group showed on Tuesday.
The research firm estimated that the overall increase was due to higher emissions from direct fuel use to heat buildings, which rose by 6.8% in 2025 from the previous year, and a 3.8% rise in power sector emissions on increased coal-fired generation to meet demand from data centers and bitcoin mining.
Rhodium said the uptick in emissions has not yet reflected the impact of policy changes implemented by the Trump administration, which has sought to roll back environmental regulations, stop the collection of greenhouse gas emissions data and halt incentives to bolster renewable energy in favor of policies to drive up fossil fuel production.
“That could change in the coming year or two, particularly if data center electricity demand continues to surge and the grid responds with more output from existing fossil generators instead of new, clean resources,” the report said.
It added that the repeal of federal tax credits in 2025 could stunt the growth of electric vehicles, which “kept a lid” on transportation emissions.
